The Legacy Of BillowHouse Lives On

 

On June 15, 2018 Mary Kerrigan the present owner of BillowHouse will celebrate a mile stone of owning and operating BillowHouse for twenty five years. (1993 to present)  A celebration of this milestone will take place on Saturday, June 16, 2018 from 3:00 to 7:00PM. Cake, ice-cream and light appetizer’s will be served to all guest attending.  We are digging deep to research the history of BillowHouse established in 1818 and came across this information which we thought was very informative. “The former Billow House, at 1 Temple Avenue, built sometime prior to the founding of Ocean Park, and now a modern six unit motel(the only one in Ocean Park), has been the only consistent advertiser in the assembly booklet since 1818. The present structure opened for the 1970 season, having replaced the old-time Billow House which had been destroyed by fire the night of December 17, 1968.

Miss L.S. Knight and Miss M. A. Foss, co-owners, had it open for that first historic season. They gave board and room for $1.5o per day, and also were equipped to furnish milk and butter to “outside parties.”  In 1883 it was enlarged with the addition of a dinning room and “sleeping apartments.”  In that year, as well as for some time thereafter, it was able to advertise itself  as being the only hotel in Ocean Park facing the ocean. Miss Lizzie S. Knight was the single owner in 1888. Beginning in 1911, Ralph E. Gilmore, a relative of the previous owners, appears as owner. The longest period of individual ownership began when Charles E. Torrey of Bangor, Maine opened it under his management in1914, holding the property until his death on June 22, 1945. Then, Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E Puffer of 4 Colby Avenue became owners of the place.  They operated it along with Silversands, next door on the waterfront, which began as a family guest house operated by Mrs. Puffer’s parents, Rev. and Willis M. Davis. Mrs. Puffer died on June 15, 1980.

In 1993 when Bill & Mary Kerrigan purchased the Billow House from the Puffer’s sister renovation quickly began and have continued over the past 25 years.  With the latest renovation completed on June 15, 2015 to bring the BillowHouse somewhat back to its original look of the 1800’s.

billowhouse.com

 

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